Minimally invasive surgeries have involved the use of multiple small incisions to perform a surgical procedure instead of one larger opening. The small incisions have reduced patient discomfort and improved recovery times. The small incisions have also limited the visibility of internal organs, tissue, and other matter.
Endoscopes have been inserted in one or more of the incisions to make it easier for clinicians to see internal organs, tissue, and other matter inside the body during surgery. These endoscopes have included a camera with an optical and/or digital zoom capability that is coupled to a display showing the magnified view of organs, tissue, and matter inside the body as captured by the camera. Existing endoscopes and displays, especially those used in surgical robotic systems, have had a limited ability to identify conditions or objects that are within the field of view of the camera but are not fully visible within the spectrum shown on the display.
For example, existing minimally invasive and robotic surgical tools, including but not limited to endoscopes and displays, have had a limited, if any, ability to identify tissue perfusion after resection, locate different sized arteries within tissue, measure the effectiveness of vessel sealing, identify diseased or dead tissue from a heat signature, verify appropriate functioning after a resection, distinguish between sensitive areas (such as the ureter) and surrounding matter (such as surrounding blood), and detecting super-small leaks that are not visible with current tests. In some surgeries these checks were either not performed or more invasive and/or time consuming tests were performed to check for these and other conditions and objects.
There is a need for identifying a greater range of possible conditions or objects that are within the field of view of a surgical camera but are not fully visible within the spectrum shown on the display during surgery.